Luck of Nines

2

        His days passed slowly, but comfortably.  He was right that the Sully's were kind, and after a discussion they alerted the nearby veterinarians and shelters that they had found a kitten, put up fliers enquiring if anyone had lost their cat or kitten recently, but otherwise left him in the care of Rosy.

       He had never thought much about it before, but Rosy really was the ruler of the home.   She slept late into the mornings, drowsily listening in on the elderly couple set about getting up and readying themselves for the day. The two bickered quietly as they woke, minutes apart from each other, in the late morning, and set about readying the doses of their morning medicines.

     "No you tomfool," Wendy Sully would scold whenever her husband would complain about the extra dishes from using the tablespoon and measuring cups, "The doctor said one tablespoon a day, so you'll take one tablespoon exactly."

"The doctor said first thing in the morning," Albert Sully would return with a fair bit of smugness when Wendy would huff about starting the day off with such a bad taste.

"It's no proper way to start the day, not even a cuppa." She would huff in return.

"At least you aren't the one swallowing ostrich eggs with your cuppa." Albert would reply referring to the pills he had to take with breakfast.

Whenever he felt like it he'd rise up and stretch from where he curled next to Rosy in the morning sun that the window let in. The cat bed could be cozy, sure, but only after one went through the annoying of warming it up. The window sill or the bench near it were already soaked in warmth from the sun.

There was always food in the dish, and both Rosy and he got a portion of wet cat food everyday as well. Surprisingly the kibble did not taste as bad as he would have expected, and that there was always food available even if eating only that tended to get dull was something he appreciated more than he ever would get to say.

For the most part he shadowed Rosy the first few days. He didn't want to mess up and be thrown out. But slowly, his curiosity got the best of him, nearly following Albert Sully into the garage as he watched the duo's daily routine suddenly change. He wasn't scolded though, nearly plucked from the ground and cooed at encouragingly by Wendy.

"Aww, Curious about what ol' Al is up to?" Wendy asked, stroking just under his chin more carefully than he could ever remember being treated in his life as she clutched him close to her chest, "he's just going out for a bit, he'll be right back, don't you worry Chipper." Chipper being the name the couple had taken to calling him.

From there he began to indulge in his curiosity a bit more. He watched from the shadows as Wendy had small social gatherings, sometimes gossiping over lemonade and biscuits with the local housewives, other times having people closer in age over for her crochet circle, all of the grey haired ladies determined to declare the most that they were too young yet for going into a nursing home yet. Many of them cooed at him, commenting on how shy he was from where he watched just out of reach or from a distance while Rosy meandered through the group getting gentle scratches and noises of adoration.

He tried to follow Albert or his club every now and again, always being held back, but never punished for his curiosity.

The nights were spent prowling about the house.

Rosy spent a considerable amount of time trying to correct his behavior. She was kind but he never seemed to move with enough confidence for her, always too mouse-like and skittish, and she frequently bemoaned how he never made his needs known.

"If you behave like prey, you'll be treated like prey." She scolded, "I won't be around forever to watch over you young one. You must know how to fend for yourself for when you are grown."

She sighed as she saw yet again him crouching eyeing the food bowl which was empty, but not brave enough to wake the Sullys for it, even though his small stomach was beginning to growl. It was still very early in the morning.

"You need to distinctly make your wants known, the humans are too clumsy and poor sighted to know otherwise." Rosy had declared before meowing very loudly and repeatedly to emphasize her point. Prancing over to sit on the bed right on top of one of the Sullys. The grumbled words she earned for this lacked any angry and they both received soft pets in response as the dish was filled.

The days sped by, long and peaceful as he slowly grew. Slower than any cat ought to be, to the Sully's confusion, but grew all the same. Until the day came, when the backyard door was left open.

It wasn't such an unusual occurrence, Albert often did when he went to grab the lawnmower on Thursday mornings, many times Rosy and he would wander out into backyard if the day was good.

This day though, it was as if fate itself was against them, one neighbor stopped Albert as he closed the gate between the front and back yards. Distracted, he didn't close the gate behind him as he headed over to the other side to chat. This too, was not altogether an unusual occurrence, for the most part both he and Rosy didn't try and exit though, the mower was loud and the blades on it sharp. They did not want to get in its path.

And then came Aunt Marge and Ripper, he would recognize the squat, fat dog that had always terrorized him even now.

But he didn't know this then, all he knew was that one moment he wondered from Rosy's side sniffing at a flower bed to watch a bug crawling on the tree that sat in another corner of the yard, the next the dog was charging into his sight, kicking up a racket, slobber being flung from its large, gaping mouth.

He screamed, bug forgotten, scrambling up the tree. Rosy dashed across the yard, yowling as she scrambled up the tree. For one brief moment he thought, despite her aging body, Rosy was going to make it.

And then Ripper's claws latched onto one hind leg, dragging down the side, pulling Rosy, still scrabbling, down. He yowled loudly again, desperately. Albert was there, he wasn't really sure when or how. Albert was hollering angrily as he fought off the claws and pried the heavyset jaws open. The moment she was free Rosy took off, trails of blood flung behind as she dashed from the tree and towards the house.

His eyes remained on the dog, trembling, as Albert fought to get it restrained. He felt a vicious satisfaction as the man landed a solid kick to the dog's sides. The dog was wrested down and Albert, blood flowing freely, turned to Marge, the large woman already hollering away and grabbing for Ripper's collar to leave. For a moment, soft spoken Albert looked like he would be overwhelmed. And then Wendy stepped in.

He had never seen her like this, a wrathful anger in her eyes as she marched- as well as an elderly woman who badly needed a walking stick could- over, drawn up like a hissing cat, taking Albert's state in as she quickly wrapped tea towels around the worst of his wounds.

Assured he was okay, she partially steadied him as the quiet rage was turned onto its source. Marge was outclassed here by this ex-field nurse who did not give one wit about the other's demands, contact info was given, straight from the driver's license because Wendy was nobody's fool, the Dursley's house number given, and Marge was given strict instructions to which hospital she was to meet them at. Within the hour, thank you kindly.

He was quickly brought inside, the house locked tight, Rosy coaxed into the car in Albert's lap, he felt fear as she went quietly, something she had never done before. The next thing he knew, they were gone, he had been there when it happened, but nothing seemed to register inside his head.

And then he was alone.

       Shell shocked.

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